By Melati Kaye A boy takes in the sunset on Barang Lompo, one of the Spermonde Islands in Indonesia. The loss of local reef cover from destructive fishing practices and soil runoff from the nearby city of Makassar exposes islands like Barang Lampo to extreme weather. Over the last thirty years, this tiny island, like others in the region, has lost a tenth of its landmass from the erosive force of storm surges and increasingly larger...

Cambodia’s Cardamom Mountains were recently spared a titanium mine, however now the region faces a new peril: bananas. The Australian firm Indochina Gateway Capital Limited has proposed a banana plantation in the Southern Cardamom Mountains. The plantation would likely destroy an elephant corridor for one of Cambodia’s last wild elephant populations. In addition, pesticides used in the plantation could pollute local...

Note: as a news organization, mongabay.com does not endorse the action below, but believes its readers may be interested in taking action or discussing the issue further. Villagers from Prey Lang forest area rally in Cambodia’s capital against continuing destruction of their forest. Protestors dressed as ‘avatars’ to gain more attention to their plight. Photo courtesy of: Prey Lang Network. Cambodia’s Prey Lang...

Saving Asia’s Vultures from Extinction from The RSPB on Vimeo. Vultures may not get a lot of love, or respect for that matter, from the public, but they play a vital role in cleaning up and recycling nature’s waste, which also helps prevent diseases from spreading. Vultures were once abundant throughout Asia, but that was until veterinary drug diclofenac became common. Used on cattle and livestock, researchers discovered...

After five years of campaigning, two Girl Scouts fighting palm oil in Girl Scout cookies are receiving wider media coverage this week after meeting with heads of Girl Scouts of the US. The organization has now agreed to research different options, such as sustainably-grown palm oil or using another ingredient, reports the Wall Street Journal. Above, the Girl Scout activists are interviewed on the CBS Early Show. For more information:...

A pair of saiga calves. Photo by: Igor Shpilenok. Few species have seen a worse decline in the past 15 years than the Asian antelope, the saiga. Once known for making up one of the world’s largest migrations, the saiga population has dropped from 1.25 million in the 1990s to 50,000 animals today, plunging over 90% and landing itself on the Critically Endangered species list. The Saiga Conservation Alliance (SCA), which is...

Baby Sumatran elephant on the run. Photos of Sumatran elephants at Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park on the island of Sumatra. These Sumatran elephants are patrol elephants; they’ve been recently domesticated and are used to reduce human-wildlife conflict. All photos by Rhett A. Butler. Meeting of the minds. Sumatran elephant with mahout. Trunk tricks. Traveling. Big male. Fountain. Modern world. To see more photos of Sumatran...

Herpetologist Lee Grismer discovers a new species of gecko sporting lovely colors and lines. Dr. Lee Grismer from the La Sierra University in Riverside, California, shows off the world’s newest gecko, captured in a cave in...

A five-month old orphaned sun bear, Natalie, at the Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Center explores the trees. The sun bear (Ursus malayanus) is listed as Vulnerable by the IUCN Red List. It is threatened by deforestation, the illegal pet trade, poaching, and the trade for traditional Chinese...

Video is from an ongoing study by Panthera and the Snow Leopard Trust. It is the first comprehensive long-term study on snow leopards. This video was taken in August 2010 at the Tost Mountain study area in South Gobi, Mongolia where Panthera and the Snow Leopard Trust are collaborating. This film clip is actually 61 images taken about a half second apart by one of our remote automated cameras. We believe it is a mother and her nearly...

Note: mongabay.com does not endorse the action below, but believes its readers may be interested in taking action or discussing the issue in comments. Fishing on the Mekong. Photo by: Rhett A. Butler. A coalition of NGOs, lacademics, journalists, artists and local people have started a petition against a series of dams planned by Laos, Cambodia, and Thailand. According to the organization, the massive dams will upend the river’s...

Native to India, the purple frog (Nasikabatrachus sahyadrensis) is listed as Endangered by the IUCN Red List. The species is also a focal amphibian for the innovative ZSL EDGE program, which selects the species it works with based on their evolutionary uniqueness and threat level. According to the EDGE website: “The purple frog is the sole representative of an ancient lineage of frogs that has been evolving independently for...

Note: mongabay.com does not endorse the action below, but believes its readers may be interested in taking action or discussing the issue in comments. Asian elephants in Cambodia. Photo courtesy of Wildlife Alliance. Cambodia has approved a controversial titanium mine in the heart of the Cardamom Mountain forests. Home to many endangered species, critics say the open-pit mine will pollute waterways, destroy over 20,000 hectares of...

Forest along the Nam Ou river in Laos. Photo by Rhett A. Butler Deforestation for a rubber plantation in Laos. Photo by Rhett A. Butler Yesterday, Conservation International (CI) released a top 10 list of the world’s most threatened biodiverse forest. Number one were the forests of Indo-Burma, including Laos, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Myanmar (Burma), and parts of China and India. This landscape includes the forests in Laos...